The Rules of Adjustment
by The Revolutionary Winter Quail
Summary: They all told him that everything would be fine, he just needed some time to adjust. But trying to navigate through life in a new body with the world thinking him dead is beginning to leave Tony Stark pretty discouraged. Yes, he would just need some time to adjust. But no one ever said that adjustment was easy.
1. I'm a Goner

**Hello! This is my first Avengers Fanfic and I hope you guys enjoy it!**

 **TW: Torture**

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Tony Stark spit his own thick blood onto the cold cement floor. He had been bleeding internally for quite some time now; a side effect of the merciless torture he had been enduring for the last few hours. The treatment he received at this dump made Afghanistan look like a mere play date.

The blood was starting to dry, fading away like an insignificant memory. It was now one of the hundreds of other stains tainting the room, and the billionaire realized with a start how many people had lost their lives strapped to the same table that he was on now. They had all been tortured and hopeless, too. Nobody had come to save them.

A short, hairy man in a white lab coat entered the room and stopped in directly in front of the playboy. His face was aglow with malicious grin, but his black eyes seemed cold and dead.

"Herr Stark, what a _pleasure_ it is to make your acquaintance." said the evil scientist in heavily accented German. "As a child my life's dream was to make weapons for _Stark Industries_ , but you made that impossible."

Tony could not believe what he was hearing. He had just been kidnapped and tortured, was this guy seriously trying to make small talk with him?

"You bastards will regret this when my suit gets here." This comment amused the German a great deal, and he let out something that sounded like a hybrid between a chuckle and a hack.

"I hate to call your bluff Herr Stark, but your puny little suits will save you now. You are no fool; I assume that you have already discovered our little electro-magnetic barrier." Tony ground his teeth. He had known that his suit was not coming, and now he had confirmation why.

A scream tore out of his mouth as the whip came down across his back. The former playboy had been so lost in his own thought that he did not see the electrically supercharged strip of metal speeding towards him.

As he writhed in blindingly painful misery the scientist crouched near his ear and whispered gleefully,"Yes, yes. Based off of Ivan Vanko's designs. Of course _you_ already knew that." He let out a sickening laugh. "But what you do not most likely know is that he worked for _ussss."_ He carried out the _s_ sounding almost like a snake.

Tony was beginning to feel lightheaded. Between the torture and lack of food, water, and sleep his body was giving out. Red spots danced before his eyes, and he could have sworn that the scientist uttered the words " _Hail Hydra_ " before everything went black.

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His skin was freezing and his lungs were burning. The concrete came into contact with his shoulder, and he heard a sickening _crack._ Pain seared through him, but it felt dull compared to the earlier events. Tony realized with a shudder that something was wrong. He felt different somehow, but he just couldn't put his finger on what it was.

Scientists speaking rapid German were all around him; their voices mixing together until none of it could be understood.

The super-hero forced open his eyes, and was greeted by flood of bright light. All eyes were on him; waiting expectantly.

Tony pushed a mop of brown hair out of his face and looked around, attempting to get his bearings. He was in another concrete room, probably at the same base, and this time with many spectators. At the back of the room sat two capsules connected by a vast series of wires. They were about seven foot tall each and filled with green gel. The same gel that he was covered in.

Using his good arm, the inventor forced himself to his feet. He was not wearing any clothes, which would normally be humiliating, but at this point he couldn't care less. What did worry him was that something was still wrong, and he did not know what.

The genius threw on his best glare, crossed his arms, and jumped back in surprise. He had felt it when he crossed his arms; the fact that his chest was _not flat_.

' _You idiot!'_ he chastised himself. He had been so fixated on observing his surroundings and formulating a plan of escape that he had failed to notice that those f***ing Hydra scientists had turned him _female._

He clutched his body, telling himself none of it was real, that it was some f***ed up illusion, like Wanda's. But he was lying to himself and he knew it. Everything was too realistic to be magic-induced. Oh shit, now he was hyperventilating, he was about to lose control.

"What the hell did you do to me?!" he screamed and immediately regretted it. His voice was too high, and the sound of it scared him further.

"What do you mean, Stark?" asked the same scientist who had tortured him earlier with the Whiplash. "Your old body was too frail; you terribly needed an upgrade." He cocked a toothy grin. "We were not going to let the great Tony Stark die on us, not when you could be used for so much _more._ " He put such an emphasis on the last word that it made Tony's stomach squirm.

"Fix me!" he screamed again, knowing it was a futile effort.

The scientist chuckled. "I am afraid that is not possible, Stark." He hit a button on what appeared to be a control panel and the green capsule to the left opened. The gel spilled onto the floor and a body-Tony's body-fell out. It wasn't breathing.

They had killed his body. There was no going back.

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Meanwhile, hundreds of miles away The Head sat in an office, watching the scenario unfold over a live video stream. The phone on the desk rang and The Head answered, already knowing what it was about.

"Your Highness," came the German voice, "Stark is not taking the transition well."

"I can _see_ that!" The Head shot back, voice bristling with anger.

A pause. The growing tension was becoming unbearable. The German finally mustered the courage to ask, "What shall we do?" His voice shook, terrified of his superior.

Through ground teeth The Head replied, "Wipe him."

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 **Wow that was intense! I'll try to get next chapter up soon. Please follow and review! All reviews, even negative ones, help. I will respond to all memeber reviews.**


	2. I've Got Two Faces

**Hey everyone. So...life got crappy. Like really crappy. And I was kind of planning on abandoning this fic. HOWEVER it was saved by none other than MarvelGeek42 and SherryisStarStruckandLoki'd. They convinced me to not give up and keep writing, so you can thank them for this chapter before you.**

 **I'm going to be honest and say that this chapter was not what I was planning, but it's what I wrote so it's what you get. I love agst and hurt/comfort, and have always felt like the movies don't pay enough attention to Natasha or Pepper, so this is almost like a one-shot within the story (sorry if that doesn't make sense.) The next chapter should hopefully get back to the main plotline, but until then you guys have this.**

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Pepper Potts ran a ran a slick, sweaty hand through her strawberry blond hair. It was 2008 all over again; Tony had been kidnapped and was most likely being tortured ruthlessly, with little hope of making it out alive. The only difference was that Pepper wasn't going to sit around doing nothing this time.

A rescue mission had been planned immediately after the UN had delivered the fateful news that her fiancée had been abducted. Natasha had taken over as the team's new leader in Tony's absence, and had the coordinates of the HYDRA base within a few hours. Then came the trouble of assembling the team itself. Rhodey was still in physical therapy from his fall a year and a half earlier, and was unable to pilot the suit. Vision had been suffering from severe migraines (apparently the stone in his head was acting up), and the Spider-kid that Tony had recruited lacked the training and experience to infiltrate the base. Seeing as they were out of options, Pepper made an impulsive decision to accompany Natasha in the Mark 45. Tony had designed it specifically for her as a "last resort, personal defense, option", and the redhead had trained in it a few times.

Pepper but her lip as anxiety coursed through her veins. Tony had so much more practice and experience in suits than she did. How would she be able to save him if he couldn't save himself? Her stomach dropped at her next thought. What if they were too late? _What if there wasn't any Tony left to save?_

The air was evading her lungs, and the world began to close in around her. She had failed him; Tony was gone and it was all because she had yelled at him before he went off on some stupid mis-

A calm yet firm hand was on her shoulder, and a soothing voice said "Pepper, it's ok. You need to breathe. Deep breaths with me... one... two... three..."

Pepper slightly relaxed as oxygen seeped into her system, shoving the other thoughts out of her mind and focusing with Natasha on the breathing exercises. A few minutes later her heart had finally slowed, and the trembling had stopped. She glanced up at the blond assassin with a look halfway between questioning and embarrassment. Natasha stared off into the distance and responded with the slightest hint of regret, "Panic attack. I can recognize them because I used to get them all the time."

Oh god. She had just had a panic attack. _Tony_ used to get panic attacks-

The CEO was suddenly bawling into the spy's shoulder, inwardly screaming at the _cruelty_ of it all. Tony had done nothing but _give_ to the world for the past ten years, and he was repaid hate, blame, and abandonment. He protected, sacrificed, created, and loved, but was kidnapped and tortured in return. She would make it up to him some day...if he was still alive.

"You can tell me anything you want." Natasha stated. "I won't judge."

The other woman gazed up at her with watery eyes. "I-I'm just so worried," she sputtered. "We won't know if he'll still be himself...or if he's even _alive."_ And then Natasha was hugging Pepper, and Pepper was hugging her back. The two melted into each other's embrace, gaining strength from the other when they both needed it most.

Pepper finally drew back, and studied the agent with new eyes. Nat had always been cold and concealing, and the redhead had regarded her as nothing more than a faceless spy; comfortable with following anyone's orders, no matter the cost. But as the assassin turned away Pepper swore she saw a single tear gliding down the former's cheek.

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 **I hope you guys enjoyed, and please tell me what you think. Reviews are my lifeline. All reviews, even the negative ones, help.**


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